Church leaders in UK call for ‘no’ vote on assisted dying bill

London, England, Oct 4, 2024 / 15:15 pm

U.K. church and pro-life leaders have warned Prime Minister Keir Starmer that plans to introduce assisted suicide will put vulnerable people at risk.

Labour Member of Parliament Kim Leadbeater is proposing a bill that would give terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to end their life. The issue was last voted on in 2015, when members of Parliament roundly rejected assisted suicide. This time they will vote on the bill Oct. 16.

Bishop John Sherrington, head of life issues for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, pointed to places where euthanasia has been legalized, such as Canada and Oregon, as a warning sign.

“The legalization of assisted suicide undermines the sanctity and dignity of human life. There is also now ample evidence across the world that the legalization of assisted suicide puts the most vulnerable members of society at risk,” he said.

“I wish to reaffirm that the Catholic Church has always been opposed to assisted suicide in every circumstance.”

Sherrington praised the work of “hospices and other health care institutions” that play a key role in “helping the terminally ill and dying to leave this world whilst preserving their dignity. They truly provide assistance to those who are dying.”

In the 2015 vote, a proposed bill to enable terminally ill people to take their own lives was defeated, with 118 votes for and 330 against. The prime minister, who personally supports a change in the law, was one of the 118 to vote for the bill. He has previously said he would give members of Parliament a free vote on the issue, but Catholic peer David Alton of Liverpool warned of the “floodgates opening” if the law is passed.

Alton issued a stark warning to those supporting the new bill and encouraged the government to put more resources into palliative care. 

Warning against rushing the legislation through, Alton said: “Before the U.K. Parliament opens the euthanasia floodgates, it should first dispassionately consider outcomes in jurisdictions that have ditched protection of the vulnerable with ineffective safeguards. [Members of Parliament] should put their energy into better palliative care.”

Alton was referring to Holland, where euthanasia has been legal since 2002. Twenty-four confirmed cases of euthanasia have taken place where the individuals concerned were diagnosed with autism or having a learning disability.

Alton also referred to Canada, where euthanasia was first legalized in 2016 through its medical aid in dying (MAID) legislation. In 2021, Canada repealed the requirement that the natural death of those applying for MAID should be “reasonably foreseeable.” In December 2022, the government announced its intention to allow it for those suffering from mental illness. This is expected to be introduced in 2027.

Figures have shown that the number of people making use of assisted suicide or euthanasia has markedly increased. Alton said: “MAID has led to premature deaths, an increase in discrimination and stigma towards disabled people in Canada. Yet this is a law many campaigners in the U.K. support?”

“Euthanasia is a one-way ticket with no return. The challenge is to provide more palliative care, more hospice care at home, and an ethos which upholds human dignity and the sanctity of life.”

The issue of assisted suicide has come to the fore in the U.K. after popular journalist and television presenter Esther Rantzen, who has terminal cancer, called for a vote on assisted suicide earlier this year.

Leadbeater said “now is the time” to vote on the issue, but pro-life group Right to Life UK dismissed the plans to introduce assisted suicide as a “disaster in waiting” — again referring to the effect of the legislation on vulnerable people. 

Right to Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said: “Making assisted suicide legal poses an acute threat to vulnerable people, especially in the context of a struggling health care system.”

“Every suicide is a tragedy, and this remains the case for those suffering at the end of their life. In such cases, vulnerable people may feel pressured to end their lives prematurely. This would be an extremely poor indictment of our health care system and society as a whole. The U.K. needs properly funded high-quality palliative care for those at the end of their life, not assisted suicide.”